As Butlins, of all places, prepares to stage a festival of alternative club nights, we round up some of the best parties, from Hip Hop Karaoke to Rebel Bingo.
If the thought of hearing Nigel from finance groaning through another rendition of My Way after work makes you cringe, Hip Hop Karaoke offers some rap-fuelled respite. Be warned, the standard here is high though the crowd is usually hyped and friendly.
The premise is simple: take traditional bingo, put it in a nightclub, add a load of drunk people, get burlesque performers to do the calling, fire off some glitter cannons and play some 90s music. Altogether now: 44, droopy drawers! Sink The Pink has started a new league of no-holds-barred parties: one that blurs gender boundaries, fashion tribes, pop music and, by the time the sun rises, your makeup. Since it arrived in a burst of glitter eight years ago, best friends Amy Zing and Glynfamous have turned their event from makeshift east London disco into a lavish, 3,capacity megamix of stage shows, live music Little Mix!
The Vengaboys! What really makes the STP crew special, however, is their gang of leg-splitting, wig-wearing, bearded boys in drag who steal the show with dance routines and garishly brilliant homemade outfits. Ticket prices vary, see website for details. What beats a night of dancing to Fleetwood Mac remixes?
Not even a night of dancing to the real deal. But instead of playing it straight, their playlist weaves together house, Balearic disco and techno homages to the band.
